Live, Bush & Our Lady Peace

August 3, 2019

Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, Colorado

Recap and photos by: Tyler Hypnarowski

Celebrating 25 years since the release of Throwing Copper and Sixteen Stone, the albums that kickstarted and defined the careers of Live and Bush respectively, two of the biggest bands to help shape the post-grunge landscape brought their “ALTimate Tour” to Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. The sold out show was able to live up to its hype and delivered nearly three hours of classic nineties riffs and sing-alongs to a jubilant Colorado audience that was thirsty for some musical nostalgia.

Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace opened the show and got the crowd engaged early with familiar songs “Innocent” and “Somewhere Out There”. Fans filtered into the scorching hot auditorium as lead singer Raine Maida sang about “a Lennon and a Cobain” and thanked the many who got in early to watch them.

Also mixed into the set were “Clumsy” and “Superman’s Dead” off of their platinum selling 1996 album that shares a name with the former. The set would wrap up with “Starseed”, the hard rocking single from their debut album, Naveed, which also happens to be turning 25 year this year. Highlighted by an extended, at time cacophonous intro before blasting off with soaring guitars, the song took on new life in a live setting.

Bush was up to bat next and wasted no time delving into their Sixteen Stone material as they opened up with the stadium anthem, “Machinehead.” And from there the hits just kept coming.

All said the England-turned-California band would play six songs from their multi-platinum selling debut, including many that made for set highlights. Among them was “Everything Zen” and of course their biggest hit “Glycerine”, in which the band left the stage and allowed frontman Gavin Rossdale to perform the song solo on just his distorted electric guitar.

Then while in the middle of “Little Things”, another one of those album cuts, Rossdale ran through the crowd and eventually made it up to the balcony, high-fiving fans as he passed them by. Just prior to that we got a taste of some new material in the form of “Bulletholes” a track written for the upcoming action film “John Wick 3: Parabellum” starring Keanu Reeves. Rumbling bass and loud guitars in full force, the song sounded fresh while still remaining true to Bush’s hard rock blueprint.

“Comedown”, another Sixteen Stone classic concluded their set and then it was Live‘s turn to take the stage. Their portion of the evening kicked off with “The Dam At Otter Creek”, the opening track from Throwing Copper that was perhaps too dark and raw to be a radio single, but just bewitching enough to be the perfect beginning to both an album and a concert.

Live hit upon seven tracks from that iconic record throughout their set, including the obligatory “Lightning Crashes” to close the show. “White, Discussion” the politically charged rocker that is as lyrically relevant today as it was in 1994 was also a treat to hear. Then of course songs like “All Over You”, “Selling the Drama” and “I Alone” are staples – it wouldn’t be a complete Live show without them.

But what really impressed me was their ability to include all their hits while also finding time to sprinkle in a few unique covers as well. Vocalist Ed Kowalczyk got to further show off his range as they put a really nice spin on The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” that got the crowd as fired up as any one of their own hits, while also paying homage to one of their own alt-rock influences with a rendition of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”.

Pound for pound, this may be the best tour of the summer for fans of 90s rock and alternative music. It’s a celebration of the past and those memories you made while listening to the songs all those years ago, but it’s also a celebration of how rock and roll is still very much alive in 2019. See full remaining tour dates.

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